Quidditch Pitch
by sexymarauders
Summary: James loves the Cannons. Like, a lot. Based on Fever Pitch.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Ok so this is basically based of the movie Fever Pitch, which is hilarious and adorable and not even about baseball that much. If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend you watch it right now. Go. I just rewatched it and all I could think was James Sirius, so here I am now, being the biggest possible nerd and writing this. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Fever Pitch**

James Potter loved Quidditch. More specifically, he loved the a Chudley Cannons. The Chudley Cannons, the worst team in the league, the joke of wizards world-wide, and possibly the cause of the most heart-break in any dedicated fan. Ron Weasley was to blame for the strife he put James through as a child. His own children were disinterested in the sport, so Ron took James to the games. James immediately fell in love and hasn't shut up about them since.

He was always a decent player himself, playing Chaser in school for several years but something felt wrong about going professional. It was like this whole other world where he felt he didn't belong. He was content with going to all the matches, watching and hoping that they would finally amount to something.

James was 29, when Hogwarts started their term and he resumed work as Transfiguration Professor. He felt as though time was running out for him. Most of his cousins were married or in committed relationships, Teddy and Victoire had a daughter (who James was godfather to), Dominique had a kid, and Lily had just announced she was pregnant, yet here he was, unable to keep a girlfriend. He was attractive, he was smart, his dad was Harry Potter! He should be able to find someone!

"You're willing, Potter?" asked Headmistress Sinstra, jolting himself out of his pity party. He was sitting at the weekly staff meeting, possibly his weekly peak of boredom. "Going into the village Saturday in case something happens?"

"Sure," said James. He didn't care, he went to the pub nearly every night anyways. He liked the village, he had friends there.

"Thanks," said Sinstra, shuffling through some parchment. "Let's go over the dinner schedule for the week, shall we?"

scene break

That Saturday James headed down to the village, alone. He got along fine with the other Professors but none of them were his own age. He had several friends in the village he often had a drink with at night. As he passed Honeydukes, planning on going right to the Hog's Head, the tantalizing smell of sweets lured him in. He had birthday presents to buy anyways, and this was a good a place as any.

The glamour of Honeydukes had worn off for James since he became violently ill after eating twenty of the Blood Pops in one sitting during fourth year, so he couldn't even remember the last time he had been in the sweet shop. The walls were a bright, fresh pink, with like green lining the top. Blues and yellows and oranges popped out everywhere from the shelves and walls, and every direction you turned got you a new spell. James turned thirteen again, completely fascinated by everything, his neck twisting every which way to get a glimpse. He pushed himself through the crowd and found himself opening a box of Sugar Quills. He was just selecting some of the deluxe ones, when a voice made him stop.

"Um, excuse me?"

He turned around. A curvy, freckly girl about his age was looking at him bemusedly. A name tag told him her name was Laura.

"Hi," he said. He smiled at her. She was cute. She was very cute.

"Hi," she said. "This is the stock room, sir," She sounded quite amused with him.

"Oh!" Said James. "I'm sorry-I just haven't been here in like 15 years-I'm so sorry!"

She cocked her head at him. "15 years? Hey, I tell you what," she glanced quickly around, as if looking for someone and then at her watch. "I'll give you a tour of what you missed,"

scene break

Twenty minutes later, they were sitting on crates in the back of the store, licorice ropes in hand, Laura laughing her head off at James' Blood Pop story.

"So how come I never knew you at school?" He asked, tearing off some licorice. "What house were you in?"

"I was a Ravenclaw," she said. "I think you were two or so years ahead of me. I knew your brother," She blushed. "Everyone knew who you were- Quidditch star, Harry Potter's son, Transfiguraton prodigy,"

James chuckled a little. "I uh, I was pretty pretentious back then. I hope you haven't got the wrong idea,"

Laura shook her head and laughed awkwardly, her dark curls bouncing.

"So," he said, cocking his head to look at her. "Laura the Ravenclaw. What's your story?"

"Uhh," She laughed in the same way, a nervous breathy kind of laugh. She shrugged. "My aunt and uncle have run the shop since I was a little kid so I figured I'd work here. I make a lot of the candy, too. And I charm it and I develop new flavors and stuff,"

"A charmstress," said James, smiling. "I was never any good at that,"

"Well, it's all about creativity," she explained, her eyes lighting up. "You have to know how to take it to the next level, to improve it," She offered him the licorice, smiling at him shyly. "Um, I have to go," she said, glancing at her watch. "I need to get back to work,"

"Yeah yeah yeah!" Said James, bouncing up and offering her a hand. "Uh, this was really fun! We should grab a drink sometime,"

She grabbed his hand and stood up. "Yeah," she said. "I'd like that,"

scene break

"I'm not saying I'm going to marry the man," she said, glaring at Martha over her butterbeer. I'm just saying I thought he was a lot different than people described him,"

Martha rolled her eyes and turned a page of her magazine.

"I just don't understand how he's single," sighed Emma, pouting at Laura. "I mean, he's gorgeous, famous, smart, rich," Her eyes widened at the last word. "I bet he's loaded,"

"He's a teacher," said Laura, rolling her eyes doubtfully.

"But the Potter's are rolling in it!" Emma said, a gleam entering her eyes. "I swear, Laura, you don't know how lucky you are!"

"It's just a date," she said, looking a at her friends. Martha was pretending like she didn't care, although Laura could tell she was taking in every word. Emma was on her third firewhiskey, about to pee her pants with excitement. Although she didn't want to admit it, Laura was excited too. Being the center of attention was exciting.

"I bet he has a really disgusting habit," said Martha. "That's why he's single,"

"Like what?" Asked Laura doubtfully.

"He could collect his own toenail clippings," supplied Emma.

"Maybe he's really into feet," added Martha, looking up at Laura, grinning.

"Or maybe he always has a runny nose and he's just constantly sniffling,"

"That one's not true, I met him today," said Laura, holding up a hand to stop the girls. "Anyways, you are all just jealous that I have a date,"

She smiled self-satisfiedly, sitting back in her booth.

scene break

"Laura," said Al slowly, looking at his brother through the fire. "Laura the Ravenclaw," He snapped his fingers. "I remember her! She was sweet, a very nice girl,"

James was sitting in his living, on his Chudley Cannon's rug, wearing his Chudley Cannon's pajamas. He was drinking tea from his Chudley Cannon's mug, and he had just finished re-reading his dad's old copy of Flying with the Cannons before Al had popped in for a chat.

"Great, thank you for the info," said James sarcastically, rolling his eyes at Albus. "I'm so glad I know she's sweet and nice,"

"What do you want me to say?" He asked irritably. "We knew each other, we had a few classes. She was top in Charms, I remember. So, James, is this is the girl for you?"

"Merlin, Albus, I met the girl once," he said, running his hands through his hair. "I dunno. She was just so...,"

"Sweet and nice?" Interjected Al with a grin.

"Alright, alright," said James. "Comedian of the year. Anyways, how's Auror life?"

"Dad's still got me stuck at the desk all day," said Al angrily. "I passed all the field tests with flying colors, and he thinks I'm not ready,"

"I'm sorry, mate," said James, who wasn't interested. "What clubs was Laura in?"

"James, I don't know!" Said Al exasperatedly. "I swear, you are still twelve on the inside,"

James shrugged. "I'm just excited. What if she's the one?"

Al rolled his eyes. "You've already found 'the one,' you said. You have the Cannons,"

James grinned. "Yeah, they are pretty great,"

Al's face got serious. "James, I'm gonna tell you something and you might not like it,"

"What?" Asked James, his heart sinking.

"If you want things to go well with this girl, you might want to back off on the Cannon stuff,"

"You're mental," said James instinctively. "Girls love that I'm passionate,"

"Girls also hate when you love something more than them. Just don't talk about it with her for a while in front of her, ok? I just want to help you out,"

"Yeah, yeah," said James, slightly embarrassed he was being given this talk. "I gotta go grade some papers, I'll talk to you later. Be safe at work,"

"Love you," said Al, like he always did.

"Yeah," said James, like he always did.

As Al left the fire, James leaned back on his heels. Were the Cannon's really why he was so desperately single? Did he really like them more than girls?

"Well," he figured. "Girls can break your heart. You expect the Cannons to,"

**A/N: And that's a wrap on chapter one! I'm really trying to make my writing meatier, as I really enjoy writing dialogue the most. I think in screenplays a lot actually. Anyways, drop a line and tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Well someone's dressed to the nine's!" commented Neville, as he unlocked greenhouse two for James. The two entered and Neville started selecting flowers. James had asked him to make him a nice bouquet for his date tonight.

"Do I look too fancy?" asked James, anxiously flattening his famous Potter hair. "I don't want to look like a pretentious professor, you know?"

"You look very handsome," assured Neville, pressing the flowers into his hands. "Just don't talk about the Cannons," he said with a wink.

James rolled his eyes. "I get it! I talk about Quidditch a lot! If everyone could just get over themselves...,"

Neville snapped his fingers. "That reminds me-don't forget Gryffindor tryouts are tomorrow and Sinstra wants someone there to make sure no one loses an eye or something,"

James sighed. "Alright. I'll be there," As passionate as he was about Gryffindor Quidditch, tryouts would be torture.

"Good luck!" Said Neville, turning to tend to his plants while James headed out.

-

James was currently feeling a large amount of pressure to make sure this first date went well. Al and his extraordinarily large mouth had made sure to tell everyone that James had managed to procure a date, and James had received many letters in the past week that mentioned their excitement. He was sick of being the joke of his friends and family, the weirdo loner. He knew the ladies loved him. He knew he just had high enough standards to pick out the special ones from the ones who just wanted him for his fame, smarts, and good looks.

With this pep talk in mind, he took a deep breath and rapped firmly on Laura's door. He waited patiently, flowers in hand.

From the inside he heard a dog barking, a distinct cursing, and some shuffling footsteps. The door cracked open, and Laura's voice called out softly.

"I'm sorry, James. I've got this awful stomach flu. I completely forgot to tell you I was ill,"

"Hey, that's okay," he said gently, prying the door open more. She was standing, dressed but looking like she crawled out of a grave. "You live alone, right? Why don't I come in and get you comfortable?"

He handed her the flowers. She looked at them apprehensively. "I'm really sorry-I'm allergic to flowers-this is so embarassing,"

James yanked the flowers out of her hands, hastily Vanishing them.

"Don't be embarrassed," he said, smiling at her. He stepped into her flat. "Let's just get you to bed, yeah?"

She nodded tiredly. James put an arm around her waist and guided her to the bedroom. After nearly dragging her there, they stood face to face at her bedside. James opened his mouth to ask where her pajamas were, when she spoke first.

"James-," she said, panicked.

"What's wrong?" He asked, looking around.

She proceeded to vomit on him.

"Uhh," she moaned, leaning forward and resting her head in the crevice of his shoulder. "I'm so sorry,"

"That's fine," said James, cleaning off the front of his shirt. "Do you have pajamas I can help you into?"

"In the middle drawer," she mumbled, pointing to the dresser and sitting back on the bed as James retrieved them.

"Who in their right mind keeps their pajamas in the middle drawer?" he asked, teasing gently. She managed a weak smile, and James slowly helped her up and eased off her shirt.

"I'm not looking," he said, turning his head away. As he pulled the nightgown over her head she said "Yes, you were,"

"Ok, I was. A little," he said, smiling slightly at her. She crawled into bed. "Want some tea? Or some soup or something? How about some toast! My mum always made me toast with bananas on top,"

She shook her head. "Just go home, James," she said. "I'm so sorry,"

James shook his head at her. "I really don't think so," he said.

Laura fell into a rough sleep quickly. She woke in the middle of the night to discover a mug of cold tea sitting with some burnt toast on her bedside table, and a damp towel on her forehead. Feeling much better, she rolled over and fell back asleep.

-

James woke up to the whining of Laura's huskie and sunlight streaming into the flat. He stretched out his aching joints and dig himself out of the couch he slept on. He checked his watch, yawned, and shuffled into Laura's cramped kitchen to make some breakfast.

Her kitchen was larger than expected for the size of her flat, but, James remembered, she was a chef of sorts. It had long gleaming  
counters rather atypical for wizards, as well as several instruments James vaguely remembered from Muggle Studies. James wondered if Laura was Muggle-born. The window looked over the village and had a clear view of the castle. James smiled as he realized he could see the Quidditch Pitch, and stood for a minute, watching the players. He supposed they were probably having try-

"Oh, shit," he breathed. He was suddenly ten times more awake as he gathered his belongings and scrawled a note to Laura apologizing. He stole some of her Floo Powder and whizzed back to his office, sprinting to the pitch.

When he finally arrived, very late and very sweaty, he found a dozen broken bones, seven jinxed brooms, and three crying second years.

Sinstra was unimpressed.

"James, will you ever grow up?" she raged at him, as he sat in her office that afternoon, feeling like a child. "I gave you a simple job, one that you might even enjoy, and you blow it off! Now we've got five students in the hospital wing!"

"Professor-I am so sorry-it won't happen again," he said, pathetically.

"James, you are a great teacher. Really," she said, looking at him sternly through her glasses. "I have never met anyone more suited to the job you have. All I am asking you to do is focus a little more on the other aspects of your job,"

"Yes ma'am," he said, getting up. "Thank you, Professor. And I truly am sorry. I won't let it happen again,"

She smiled at him. "I know you're sorry. But don't lie to me,"

Scene break

James' mood quite improved at breakfast the next morning when a large unfamiliar tawny owl flew up to him with a letter and small parcel. He ripped open the envelope to find a note from Laura.

"Dear James,

Thank you thank you thank you for everything you did for me. I am so sorry our plans didn't work out! My friends really want to meet you, how would you like meeting us at the Three Broomsticks on Monday at about 8? (You can bring some friends too if you're intimidated.) Anyways, I'm sending some fudge as a gift of my gratitude. See you soon!

Sincerely,  
Laura"

James couldn't keep the stupid smile off his face as he opened the box of fudge. Neville noticed, helping himself to a piece. "Someone's got quite the little admirer," he quipped.

scene break

Laura sat at the crowded bar Monday night, feeling quite nervous. She never like group dates, and this was even worse, as her girlfriends were there purely for picking out all of her flaws. Martha flirted with the bartender in that bored way of hers, while Emma chattered non-stop in her ear.

She checked the door again and saw James walking toward her with two guys flanking him, one large, and balding, dressed ten years too old for his age, the other shaggy haired and dressed about ten years too young.

"James' got a crushed!" crowed the balding one, right as they approached them. Both her and James blushed, and she chose to feign deafness as she greeted him with a hug.

"These are my friends, Martha and Emma," she said, pointing at them respectively. Martha barely glanced his way, while Emma turned bright red and giggled embarrassingly loud.

"Nice to meet you," said James politely. "This is Tim-," he gestured towards the balding one. "And this is Angus," he gestured towards the shaggy one.

"Hi," she said, smiling timidly at them. Emma and Tim caught eyes and smiled at each other.

"So, Laura," said James, sliding into the barstool next to her. "Is this considered our first or second date?"

Laura noticed Martha shoot him a dirty look. What could he have possibly done wrong already? she wondered. She kicked Martha under the bar.

"Well, I like to start all of my relationships off with vomiting," she said. James laughed. "I think it really allows the couple to get intimate in a non-traditional way, you know?"

"Wow," said James. "You know a lot about this, Akerman,"

"Mmm," she said, sipping her butterbeer. "I think I might become a relationship analyst,"

scene break

Laura dabbed off Emma's tears in the bathroom 3 hours later, regretting bringing her with all her heart. Emma wasn't a bad person, she just wore her heart on her sleeve and also liked to get wasted, so a lot of nights out often went like this.

"I hate him," said Martha, who was sitting on the bathroom counter, her long dark legs swinging. "He's too smooth for you. He's such a Gryffindor boy, you know?"

"Well, I really like him," said Laura, as Emma fell into her arms, more heaving sobs emitting. "And I think you're jealous of him,"

"That is not true!" Said Martha. "I said twenty seconds ago I hate him!"

"No, you are!" Said Laura gleefully. Catching Martha feeling emotions other than boredom was her favorite pastime. "You're jealous that everyone was charmed and enraptured by him and not you! You are so threatened by him!"

Martha didn't reply, just jumped off the counter and took Emma by the arm. "Come on, Emma darling, we're gonna go home,"

Emma, who was still sobbing, allowed herself to be dragged out by Martha. Martha turned to Laura as they opened to door to exit. "Think you want about James Potter, but I'm not wiping your tears when he dumps you,"

Laura was determined to prove Martha wrong, but when she went to go say good-night to James, she saw him hugging and laughing with a girl. Ignoring the sensation of her heart being in her throat, she stepped out of the bar into the chilly night and walked home.

scene break

"I'm so sorry I missed you leaving the pub the other night," said James, a few days later. The two of them were sitting outside a restaurant in the village, enjoying the last of the fall weather.

"Oh, well Emma was pretty drunk, we wanted her to be home safe," she said quietly, looking down at her drink.

"Too bad," he said, taking a sip of butterbeer. "I wanted you to meet my cousin, Roxanne,"

Laura's face turned red. "That girl was your cousin?"

"Oh, Laura I am so sorry!" He said. "You didn't know-you probably saw- no she's just my cousin, I swear!" He gushed, feeling like the world's biggest idiot.

"No, it's fine," she said. "I'm just a little uh, I'm a little paranoid. My friends think you're a player," she said, cringing at the words. Her large brown eyes searched his.

James considered her for a moment, then dug in his pocket for his wallet. He flipped it open and showed Laura a picture of a blonde haired girl grinning and waving at the camera. "This is my goddaughter, Eliza. She just turned eight,"

"She's adorable," said Laura, beaming at the girl.

"Anyways, she changed my life. I was 21 when she was born, and before she came I was pretty out of control. I had a dead-end job I hated, I partied all night, I whored around, you know. But she was born, and her parents made me godfather and I dunno-I guess I woke up," he shrugged. "I applied for my job here, I stopped partying and I stopped mistreated women. So long story short, I was a player -and a damn good one, you need to know- but I'm not now,"

He paused for a second. "I'm gonna tell you something and if you react wrong I'm probably not gonna go on another date with you. No pressure,"

"Ok," said Laura with a nervous giggle.

"Eliza has lycanthropy. She's a werewolf,"

Laura's face fell. "James, I'm so sorry. That's awful,"

He smiled sadly at her as he put his wallet away. "She's the sweetest, most innocent girl and it just breaks my heart," He said, with a little shrug again. "But we do what we can for her,"

He slapped the table suddenly. "Ok, your turn," he said. "Tell me something about your past,"

Laura blushed again, taking a deep breath. "Well, uh, my mom got pregnant with me, and told my dad that she was a witch. And my dad freaked out and got really upset and basically tried to make me grow up a Muggle. Like, he fought me coming to Hogwarts and he wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor or a teacher and he can't stand to know that I live in an all magical population. So he's great,"

"I'm so sorry," James said, looking at her sympathetically.

"It wasn't so bad growing up, really," she said. "My mom and I are super close, and she got married to my step-dad, Jeff, who's like the greatest guy ever, and they had my little sister. She's actually getting married this summer,"

"Sorry for prying, but why do you have like a microwave and Muggle stuff in your kitchen?" asked James tentatively.

"Oh, I dunno," said Laura vaguely. "I'm still fighting my dad about being a witch, but I think it's important we can appreciate Muggles, you know? I just have to act like I'm all witch for my dad, I guess,"

She exhaled heavily. "I guess we both got some weights off our chests,"

A/N: I really suck at endings. I don't like this chapter as much but-review?


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: This is kinda a short filler chapter I guess. I'm gonna go back and make some edits on these chapters before advancing the story...and I'm working on some other things. I can't be stopped.

"I had a thought," began James slowly, on cozy Thursday evening in November. Laura was sitting cuddled next to James on his couch in his living quarters, reading, while James graded papers.

Laura closed her book and looked up at him. "What's that?"

"Um, Christmas is coming up and I'm going to see my family for a week, and I just wanted to know if you wanted to come down and meet them too? Not the whole week but maybe just to meet my parents? I know we've only been together for a few months but they're really bursting to meet you," he finished in a rush.

"Well, yeah, sure," she said. She took off her reading glasses and sat up more to look at him squarely.

"I just didn't know if you were ready or if I was moving too fast or what," said James, his eyebrows creasing in worry.

Laura brushed his mouth with a kiss, shaking her head. "I don't care as long as I'm with you,"

-

"When's she coming?" asked Ginny, annoyed, looking at her watch and then glancing to look at the warm food on the table.

"She was held up at work!" said James, holding his hands up defensively and pacing the living room. "It's the holidays, it's the busy season,"

"Is she here yet?" Asked Lily, bouncing into the room, closely followed by Al.

"I am so excited!" Al said, pounding on his brother's back. "We are going to humiliate you in front of her,"

The door to Harry's study creaked open and James' father stepped out. "Did I hear Laura?"

"You must've mistakes her for Al," said James sarcastically, flopping in an armchair and staring at the door wistfully.

"When's she coming?" asked Harry. James gave a large, dramatic, sigh.

"I know that I have a girlfriend and it is very exciting," he announced to the family.

"It's a miracle," mumbled his mother. James held up his hand and continued.

"But please, please, please be gentle. I am begg-,"

Ding-dong.

"I'll get it," said Lily, sprinting to the door.

"Lily!" James roared, catapulting himself off the armchair to the front door. He grabbed her arm as she was about turn the doorknob and yanked her back onto the ground harshly. He opened the door just as Lily yelled "You're such a wanker!"

"Um, hi," said Laura with a nervous laugh.

"Hi!" Said James, brightly, kissing her on the cheek and taking her tray of food. "Sorry about Lily, she's really quite immature,"

"Sod off," said Lily, getting up and smiling brightly at Laura. "I'm Lily, nice to meet you,"

Laura shook Lily's hand and the two exchanged formalities.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," said Laura to James. "It was mad at the shop, I couldn't get away,"

"It's fine," he said. "I'm just happy your here," He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. "I'm so excited for you to meet everyone,"

He lead her into the dining room, and the six of them sat down for dinner.

"It all looks so good," said Laura politely, taking some potatoes.

"Mum, you should have some of Laura's sweets," said James, his mouth full of roast. "You two should like cook together sometime or something,"

"That would be nice," said Ginny. She exchanged a look with Harry.

"James never really told us how you two met!" said Lily eagerly, leaning into the table.

"Oh," said Laura with a laugh. "It's kind of a funny story. James was in Honeydukes, and he got lost,"

"How do you get lost in Honeydukes?" blurted Al. "It's one room,"

James opened his mouth to shout back at his brother but Laura smoothed it over.

"Well, I'm glad he did, or we wouldn't have met. He wandered into the back, and I found him rifling through our stuff," She laughed and put her hand on his. "We just sat in the back and giggled for a while,"

Lily mimed herself gagging while Al rolled his eyes. Ginny and Harry exchanged another look. A crack echoed through the front lawn.

"Who's that?" asked Laura.

"Oh that's just Ron," said James.

"I thought you said I was just meeting your parents!" Said Laura anxiously.

"They always pop by, sorry," said James. "I didn't really think to tell you,"

Ron and Hermione entered the dining room, followed by a very pregnant Rose.

"I have the schedule!" Said Ron eagerly, hurrying to James' side. "Just got it. This year's the year!" He said knowingly. James got up from the table and rushed to Ron's side to glance over a scrap of parchment. Ginny cleared her throat loudly and looked from James to Laura back to Ron pointedly.

"Oh!" Said James. "Sorry. Laura, this is my uncle and aunt Ron and Hermione and their daughter Rose. Everyone, this is Laura,"

"I remember you!" said Rose loudly. "Hufflepuff, right? We used to stay in the library during the Quidditch matches together, remember. We were the only two kids in the school who didn't go,"

"Do you not like Quidditch, Laura?" asked Hermione.

Laura shook her head. "I never really understood it,"

Everyone turned to look at James, in complete disbelief he would date someone who could say this about Quidditch.

"You have had a conversation with James right, Laura?" asked Al slowly. "You realize his brain is made out of a Quaffle, right?"

"Haha," said James huffily. "It's so funny that I'm so shallow and no woman will ever love me because I happen to like a sport that my own mother played professionally," he glared at Ginny as he sat back down.

"Um," piped up Laura. "I might think Quidditch is silly, but I like how much James likes it. I think it's important that people are passionate, and James is definitely passionate,"

Ginny and Harry once again shared a look.

-  
"Have a Merry Christmas," said Ginny. "We had a great time,"

James gave Laura a goodbye kiss, and she Apparated away.

"So?" Said James. "What did you think,"

"I liked her a lot," said Ginny quickly, waving her wand around the room and tidying it up immediately.

"And?" said James. "That's it?"

"I liked her too," said Harry. "I can see her in the family,"

He gave his son a very forced smile and stood up out of his armchair, stretching. "Well, I'm going to bed," he said. "Merry Christmas, everyone,"

"Nuh-uh!" said James, taking it very personally. "You're not going to bed until you tell me what you don't like about Laura,"

"James, we'll talk about it another time, ok?" said his mother, picking up the paper and settling onto the couch. "It's Christmas. I don't want to argue,"

"I'm twenty-nine," he said huffily. "Not nineteen. I'm an adult,"

"James, that's the issue," said Ginny. "You talk about settling down with this girl, but you're still so young on the inside,"

"We're just worried you're going to break her heart," interjected Harry. "Come summer, you'll be all across Europe following that blasted team around-and what's she going to be doing?"

"Well, I thought she'd come with me-," James said pathetically. His parents were looking at him so condescendingly, with such pity in their eyes it made him sick.

"She doesn't even like Quidditch, James," said Ginny exasperatedly. "Just don't break this girl's heart,"

"I love this girl," James blurted out. He'd never said that-and meant it-about a girl.

"I sure hope you love her more than the Cannons," said Harry, climbing the stairs and going to bed.

A/N: Review? Ya'll realize I can see who visits my story? Ya'll realize I see all the potential reviews and cry? Ya'll realize you're making a poor girl cry?


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